Backfire Effect (Why do we persist in believing in something even when confronting with conflicting evidence-based information?)
The Backfire Effect, a brief explanation
What is the Backfire Effect?
The backfire effect describes the tendency to continue to believe in something and even strengthen our belief in it when confronted by evidence-based information that aims to correct and rectify it.
Examples
In the ‘age of the internet’ a person may read misinformation online on a given topic e.g., whether COVID-19 was a conspiracy or not. Then when confronted with evidence-based information they may reject the evidence and persist in the earlier belief.
A person may cling to their own world view when confronted by information that does not coincide with this view.
The literature
Bickart, B. (1993). Carryover and backfire effects in marketing research. Journal of Marketing Research, 30(1), 52-62. Doi: 10.1177/002224379303000105
Nyhan, B. (2019). Why the backfire effect does not explain the durability of political misperceptions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1912440117
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